Madeira is by far my favorite part of Portugal and really took me by surprise. I went there for fortified wine but while doing research realized that they make rum too. Most of it is consumed on the island though it seems. We went to Engenho Novo and tried way more different expressions of William Hinton than I knew existed.. Mario just kept pulling more stuff out. Once I started rattling off some of my ideas he got excited and pulled a dram out of an Amphora. I thought it was interesting but my wife recoiled from the minerality.
We came home with a bottle of their Single Cast Madeira which I still like a lot.
It’s quite a place, definitely hear you all around. Yea, you may be right, I vaguely recall the rum folks encouraging me to come back in April. I grabbed one of the Engenhos do Norte myself (single cask), they’re tasty!
I want to go back but it won't be this year...maybe next.
I enjoyed Madeira a lot. It's one of those places that needs more time than you think. I also thought that I could buy all of the products from Madeira on the mainland, afterall it's the same country. I was wrong and there's a space for an HM Borges 30 year Malmsey on my shelf (or a couple). They had it for 70 euros. I found it elsewhere for a couple times that. It's worth the 70, not sure about a couple times more.
Agree. Need a lot more time than you think, and you’re definitely shooting yourself in the foot if you arrive in Funchal with no vehicle to get around. Car helped get from A to B easily.
The liquid journey — rum & wine — speak for themselves. Beyond that, beauty, safety, people, variety in nature & topography. The only thing that was a miss for me was the food; I have high expectations for ‘island food’ having Caribbean island heritage.
A place that leaves you wanting to return is always a win in my book, which is how I feel about Portugal (generally).
Madeira is by far my favorite part of Portugal and really took me by surprise. I went there for fortified wine but while doing research realized that they make rum too. Most of it is consumed on the island though it seems. We went to Engenho Novo and tried way more different expressions of William Hinton than I knew existed.. Mario just kept pulling more stuff out. Once I started rattling off some of my ideas he got excited and pulled a dram out of an Amphora. I thought it was interesting but my wife recoiled from the minerality.
We came home with a bottle of their Single Cast Madeira which I still like a lot.
I believe the Rum festival was just last week.
It’s quite a place, definitely hear you all around. Yea, you may be right, I vaguely recall the rum folks encouraging me to come back in April. I grabbed one of the Engenhos do Norte myself (single cask), they’re tasty!
I want to go back but it won't be this year...maybe next.
I enjoyed Madeira a lot. It's one of those places that needs more time than you think. I also thought that I could buy all of the products from Madeira on the mainland, afterall it's the same country. I was wrong and there's a space for an HM Borges 30 year Malmsey on my shelf (or a couple). They had it for 70 euros. I found it elsewhere for a couple times that. It's worth the 70, not sure about a couple times more.
What did you like about Madeira?
Agree. Need a lot more time than you think, and you’re definitely shooting yourself in the foot if you arrive in Funchal with no vehicle to get around. Car helped get from A to B easily.
The liquid journey — rum & wine — speak for themselves. Beyond that, beauty, safety, people, variety in nature & topography. The only thing that was a miss for me was the food; I have high expectations for ‘island food’ having Caribbean island heritage.
A place that leaves you wanting to return is always a win in my book, which is how I feel about Portugal (generally).